The ending of the story is ambiguous, or open to the reader's interpretation. What do you think happens at the end of the story? Support your answer with evidence from the text.

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the miracle worker themeswilliam gibson

themes and meanings

(comprehensive guide to drama)

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there are two central themes in  the miracle worker: that the human spirit can triumph over even the most daunting of disabilities and that a dedicated teacher can transform the lives of those with whom he or she comes into contact. these inspirational themes have long been personified in the widely known true-life relationship between helen keller and annie sullivan, but  the miracle worker  also dramatizes collateral issues that extend beyond the particular case. underlying helen’s process of learning basic principles of what annie terms “obedience” (decorum, etiquette, and hygiene), there are more universal lessons of self-governance—the inculcation of self-restraint instead of willfulness, the development of self-discipline instead of self-indulgence. only when these lessons have been mastered can helen begin to acquire language—which, annie says, “is to the mind more than light is to the eye.”

romeo and juliet, family means a lot more than a husband, wife, and 2.5 kids. "family" means everyone from the head of the household down to the lowly servants—anyone who could possibly owe any the capulets or montagues loyalty. if you're thinking "street gang" or "mafia movie," you're not too far off. that's why romeo and juliet's little love affair isn't just going to get them grounded; it's a betrayal of absolutely everything—like dating someone from a rival school or, yeah, a rival gang. we might think of family as a place of refuse and security, but, in romeo and juliet, kinship is more often a source of danger and battle.

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it is partly in consequence of such facts, that slaves, when inquired of as to their condition and the character of their masters, almost universally say they are contented, and that their masters are kind. the slaveholders have been known to send in spies among their slaves, to ascertain their views and feelings in regard to their condition. the frequency of this has had the effect to establish among the slaves the maxim, that a still tongue makes a wise head. they suppress the truth rather than take the consequences of telling it, and in so doing prove themselves a part of the human family. if they have any thing to say of their masters, it is generally in their masters' favor, especially when speaking to an untried man. i have been frequently asked, when a slave, if i had a kind master, and do not remember ever to have given a negative answer; nor did i, in pursuing this course, consider myself as uttering what was absolutely false; for i always measured the kindness of my master by the standard of kindness set up among slaveholders around us. moreover, slaves are like other people, and imbibe prejudices quite common to others. they think their own better than that of others. many, under the influence of this prejudice, think their own masters are better than the masters of other slaves; and this, too, in some cases, when the very reverse is true. indeed, it is not uncommon for slaves even to fall out and quarrel among themselves about the relative goodness of their masters, each contending for the superior goodness of his own over that of the others."